Severus' little girl: A Study in Elfish
by Lady Prospero
Summary: A Work in Progress. This piece is primarily a vessel for the explication of elvish with a Potter setting. Obviously the new characters are purely my own fancy.
1. A Waste of Time

Ch. 1 A waste of time.

"**A**dri? Are you listening to me?"

Her father's dark chocolate voice brought her back from her daydream. "Sorry?"

"I said," repeated Severus Snape annoyedly, "that I thought it would be a grand waste of time." Looking at her with affectionate impatience, he frowned. "And you've already forgotten what we were discussing. You said you were going to study Elvish, and I was not impressed."

"Oh, er... of course! A waste of time? No, never! Learning a language is never a waste of time. The only decision is whether to focus merely on one of the two major kinds or both."

Snape shook his head and returned to his manuscript. This left her free to study the list of books in front of her. She had marked a few with stars: _Primary Quenya, 1001 Elvish Verbs, How to Speak Sindarin in your Free Time, The Original Quenya Study Book_. Outside study could not be allowed to interfere with her class work, but she knew that she would find need for both eventually. Furrowing her brow, she decided to start with Quenya, which would be easiest found in literature.

"Severus, how long until school starts?"

"Well," he said. "For you, the train leaves in a week, but I'm leaving this afternoon to prepare for classes. You'll be staying at the Malfoys' for the time between."

Adri scrunched up her nose. "I suppose Mrs. Malfoy will let me go to Diagon Alley if I take Draco." Now 14, Draco was one year her elder.

"Probably. Do you have the book money I gave you?"

"Yes, it's in my pocket." She gathered her papers and headed to her room to pack her trunk.

In her room, Adri had already stacked some of her favorite reference materials for potion-making and put her clothes in a pile. Tidying these up and placing them in the trunk, she reached for her broom and her Durmstrang memorabilia, including the pennant set aside on her desk that matched the one already hanging in her bedroom.

It was not that she disliked the Malfoys but that they did not understand her. Mr. Malfoy thought her naïve and treated her patronizingly. Mrs. Malfoy truly liked Adri, but was hardly able to show affection for her own child, let alone someone else's. Draco and she had played together often as children, but he was still the only child of a proud man and acted accordingly.

Sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea, Adri made polite conversation. When the topic of the coming year's classes and her guess as to which would be hardest had been exhausted, Mr. Malfoy leaned forward and his pale blue eyes flashed with competitive spirit. "So, Adri, you must be excited about being sorted. Durmstrang is a fine school, but now you have to become a house member. I don't suppose you plan on asking the Sorting Hat to make you a Hufflepuff, do you?" He smiled meaningfully and turned to acknowledge his son as he entered the room.

Like his son, Mr. Malfoy had the potential to be a very attractive man, but his manner detracted from his charm. In talking to him it was impossible to miss that he was accustomed to having his way. This was another trait that Draco was picking up from his father, but Adri knew just how deceptive this facade was. His broom skills did not outmatch her own, and she never let him forget it.

After a customary welcome sneer from Draco, father and son left the room to discuss something privately. Mrs. Malfoy offered to refill her teacup and walked off with it. Alone, Adri sighed and munched on a tea cake. The truth was that she did not know which house she would be put into and this truth worried her. Her family had been Slytherins for centuries, but Adri was often noticed among Slytherin circles for being unusual. Thus, house placement had sat at the edge of her mind all summer since she had filed for transfer from Durmstrang.

When Mrs. Malfoy returned with a fresh cup of tea, Adri sipped it and looked at her. "Mrs. Malfoy?"

"Yes, Adri?"

"I need to purchase a few more books for school. Would there be time for me to go this afternoon?"

"I can't see why not," Mrs. Malfoy said absently. However, in a few minutes Adri found that, as expected, she had agreed to be escorted by Draco.

"What kind of person hasn't already bought their books?"

"The kind that transfers partway through the summer and gets the list later than everyone else."

Draco snorted and led the way through the crowd. It seemed to Adri that a great many students had not yet purchased their class items, judging by the inflated population of Diagon Alley, but she decided not to waste her breath. Flourish and Blotts' seemed particularly busy this afternoon as they pushed their way into the shop.

Sending Draco to find her new Defense Against the Dark Arts book, Adri slinked into the back and found one of the owners. After being directed to the correct area, she pulled a copy of _Primary Quenya_ off the shelf and stuck it between two other books.

She soon after paid for the books and drug Draco to the ice cream shop to make use of some of her remaining pocket money. Over a couple of fizzlewhips, she thought Draco was looking thoughtful. He was obviously waiting patiently for her to ask what he was thinking about, so she said nothing and let him speak on his own as he always would.

"Aren't you going to ask what's on my mind?"

"You're going to tell me anyway, so just go ahead and start."

"Well," he said importantly, "I was wondering to myself what house you're going to be put into. I can't believe they're going to sort you with all those first years!"

Adri rolled her eyes to create the illusion that his inquiry bored her. "Who knows. And I'll actually be sorted before the first years."

"Oh, of course," he said sarcastically. "I know you're nervous, don't think I don't. If you think you're fooling someone, think again."

Frowning and shaking her head, she busied herself with her fizzlewhip and tuned him out.

When they finally returned, Adri quickly found a moment to go put the books away, knowing the Malfoys could never understand.


	2. Star Tree Leaf

Ch. 2 Leaf Tree Star

Later that week, she found an afternoon to herself and decided to pull out her book of High Elvish. It read:

_We will pursue language_

_Roitauvelmet tengwesta_

_Here are a few words to get you started!_

_Leaf – lasse_

_Tree – alda_

_Star – elen_

_Shine – sil- or cala-_

_Grow – lo-_

_All the verbs have been conjugated in present tense:_

_Sila i elen. The star shines._

_Loar i aldo lasser. The tree's leaves grow._

_Note that in present tense, "a" is added to root verbs and pluralization is achieved by adding an "r" unless the word ends in a consonant, in which case an "i" is added. Also, changing the ending vowel to "o" in this case (alda—aldo) creates the possessive. "i" is of course "the." Absense of "i" makes the object indefinite which means that the word a or an is inferred._

_Take a break now and digest!_

Adri studied the first page intently. The patterns would eventually need to come naturally to her. She walked to the window and looked at the yard. The lasser of the aldar were ready to turn colors. Turning away from the window, she put the book away to answer Mrs. Malfoy's call to dinner.

The morning she was to depart for Hogwarts, Adri looked in the mirror and studied her face. What kind of face was it? Did her dark honey hair befit a brave and virtuous Gryffindor? Did her grey eyes study the reflection with the wisdom of a Ravenclaw? Seeking to distract herself, she ventured to open the book once more. The second lesson read as follows:

_Ómëar Vowels_

_For vowel pronunciation, use the following system_

_Father_

_Bed_

_Sick_

_Hot_

_Brute_

_Vowels with an accent acute (á, é, í, ó, ú) are merely longer sounding but do not resemble English's "long vowels"; thus if bed were to become béd (which it never will), the speaker would merely prolong the e sound instead of creating a word that sounds like bead or beed._

"_ë" changes the sound to a long "a" so that the following word, taurë sounds like ta-oo-ray with a stress on the "e"._

_Now, use the vowel pronunciation guide with our previous words and the following:_

_Things that can grow—löte (flower), taurë (forest)_

_Things that can shine—malta (gold), mírë (jewel)_

_Fun phrase to share with your enemies!_

_Aut- go_

_Milqul- kiss_

_Orqu – an orc or other goblin_

_Thus—Aute milqula orqu. (the e on the end of aut- signifies either past or, as in this case, the imperative or command)_

_Now go put it to use, or if you don't, aute miqula orqu!_

Repacking the book, she mumbled to herself. "Aute miqula orqu, Draco! Silar Mrs. Malfoyo malta an míri." In an attempt to use taurë, she decided she needed to find the word for "forbidden."

On her way down the stairs, Adri almost tripped on one of the cats and wished for it to kiss a goblin. At the bottom she placed her trunk upright and walked to the kitchen for her morning tea.

"Well you look cheery this morning, child," marveled Mr. Malfoy when he entered to see her mind wandering. Blinking quickly, she smiled and sipped from her cup. She couldn't get her new fun phrase out of her head, and it was taking all her strength not to arbitrarily use it whether she felt hostile or not.

Draco soon after entered with his hair already perfectly combed. This made her realize that she had not yet taken the time to properly attend to her own locks, and she made a mental note to do so. She imagined she might look like she had several handfuls of toasted hay glued to her head. No wonder Mr. Malfoy felt it necessary to make a comment.

Stopping in the hall on the way out, she rearranged her hair with her fingers to an acceptable level of messiness and turned and started to drag her trunk out of the door.

Platform 9 ¾ was bustling with people along the side of the shiny train. Adri followed Draco up to the train and stepped on behind him. As she started to enter the same car, he turned at the doorway and raised his eyebrows at her before closing the door in her face. "Of course," she said aloud. Mumbling something about stupid fifth years, she wandered down the corridor looking for a sparser car.

Near the far end she heard an earful of girlish laughter and decided to peak behind the door from which it came. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door halfway and stuck her nose in curiously. The laughter died down as three girls looked back at her.

The one on the left bench had curly auburn hair and eyes that spoke of shyness of strangers. The other two had variations of dark hair and seemed as curious as Adri. The closest one on the right spoke.

"Oh, hi. Sorry, were we disturbing you?"

"Er, no," Adri said searching for words. "As a matter of fact, you sound like you're enjoying yourselves and I came to see if you could use company."

After glancing at each other, the same girl nodded and gestured for her to sit. The shy girl to her side inched away, and Adri felt vaguely uncomfortable. "I'm Adri. Adrianna Prospero."

The girl from the other bench who had not yet spoken leaned forward and smiled. "Hi Adri. I'm Sandy, this is Barbara," she said gesturing to her left, "and the flustered hen next to you is Lisa. Don't mind her; she's the world's most unlikely Slytherin."

Lisa sat up immediately. "It's because of my family. And I want to succeed for them." She spoke with an awkward American dialect. She clearly seemed to be reciting something that she said often, as if trying to convince herself as much as others.

"Well Miss Lisa, I am sure I will fit no better wherever I end up," Adri said in her most congenial tones. "Anyway, you seem to have come a long way from home."

Looking directly at Adri for the first time, she said intently, "Well, it's because all the schools in America are disorganized." The subject was obviously one that she felt strongly about, so Adri turned her torso to the girl to give her full attention. "You see, it's such a big country and our overall population of wizards and witches is less than the entirety of Great Britain. So, they can't put enough kids in the schools because there are so many—they feel like they need to make another school in every state—and so there aren't enough teachers and so the teachers are all under qualified."

Adri blinked. "America? You mean the States or the entire continent?"

"The States," Barbara interjected. "They like to call themselves America over there.

"Oh," Adri said. Something told her that she should have known that. "What year are you guys in?"

"Fourth years!" Barbara and Sandy chimed at once. They went on to explain the importance of no longer being in the lower half of the age group, but to Adri it seemed that they were not yet in the upper half yet either. When they asked what house she would be in, she shrugged.

"You don't know yet?" Sandy asked concernedly. "That's strange. Do you mean they'll sort you with the first years?"

"_Before_ the first years," she corrected. Adri had forgotten that she still had to deal with the sorting ceremony. With that, the train's whistle blew to signify that the train was stopping.

Once off, she was allowed to travel in the carriages with the other fourth years to the castle where destiny and decision awaited her. Looking out the window she studied the scenery and whispered, "Loa i taurë."


	3. Blurred Colors

Ch. 3 Blurred Colors

Adri walked up the familiar steps into Hogwarts Castle. She had spent much time here as a child during which she had strived to be invisible. Her father had stressed to her the importance of not disrupting the lives of the students, so she had discovered and memorized a great number of secret passageways.

As she neared the doorway to the Great Hall, she caught sight of Professor McGonagall gesturing for her to come aside with her. Once free of the flow of students, Adri waited patiently for her to finish giving instructions to a couple of apparently new Gryffindor prefects.

"After the feast you will lead the 1st years back to the common room and teach them the new password. Understood?"

"Absolutely Professor," the girl replied swiftly and swept off with the other in tow.

Now free, Professor McGonagall nodded to Adri and started to lead her back near the entrance to wait for the newcomers. In the distance, lanterns could be seen at the edge of the lake. They waited as the lanterns approached, led by one held curiously higher than the others.

When they came into plain view, Hagrid blew out his light. He exchanged a few words quietly with McGonagall and bowed slightly before walking past her toward the Great Hall. This seemed curious to Adri as to which she could not imagine why the groundskeeper would need to be present for the Sorting Ceremony and feast.

The group approached the hall and was told to wait on the steps outside. McGonagall disappeared inside for a few minutes before reappearing. "They're ready for you."

At that, the doors were opened to reveal many dozen faces. Adri's stomach twisted within her; she was perfectly fine with small groups of people, but the prospect of being the attention of so many turned her blood to ice. Behind McGonagall, she led the 1st years to the front. She instinctively looked at Severus for some look of reassurance and received only a mild shade of sympathy. No doubt he disliked being sorted as well, but at least he had done it with his peers instead of in front of his peers.

Then she did exactly what she should not have: she glanced around the room. The realization that there were so many unknown faces was overwhelming, and she felt her head spin. Standing in a stupor, she barely noticed that the Sorting Hat had begun singing and already finished. She felt a hand on her shoulder and allowed herself to be guided onto the stool in the front of the room.

Now facing the room, she could vaguely comprehend the separation of colors that in any other case she would have known to be the different houses. Suddenly the green mass began moving vertically, which she managed to realize was a new movement. The same hand on her shoulder prompted her forward so that she wandered toward the new movement instinctually. Once sitting, she blinked and tried desperately to get her bearings. A vaguely familiar voice spoke practically in her ear.

"So you're one of us, eh?" Adri turned to see Barbara smiling amusedly. "Usually we sit here to welcome the first years, but you'll have to do." Her friendly grin was welcome and a bit comforting. A wave of relief came over her as she realized she was sitting at the Slytherin table; not that she had a strong preference, but life would be unmistakably easier this way. Plus, she could see her father more often while preventing Draco from becoming 'holier-than-thou' with her. Looking around, she finally asked, "Sandy's not a Slytherin?"

Laughing, Barbara shook her head. "If it weren't for her robes, I'd make the same mistake. She's been known to sneak over and eat with us on weekends when she wears street clothes. Last year the first years started to freak out when they actually saw her in house colors and thought she was a turncoat."

Across the table, Lisa was also present, looking strangely at her. She ventured to speak, "I guess we'll be a couple of strange fits together, then."

Adri gave her a sideways grin and lifted an eyebrow. "I guess so."

As it turns out, Draco could find reasons to be 'holier than thou' with her, even in the same house. After the feast she noticed him directing first years and started to walk past him with Lisa and Barbara.

"Excuse me, little first year. You shouldn't be leaving the group so soon."

Adri scowled. Reaching out and linking elbows with Lisa she retorted, "Oh, but I'm going with a buddy. If we get lost, we'll do so together. But _thank_ you kind and concerned prefect person." With that, she managed to push past him while rolling her eyes. Barbara stifled a laugh behind her, but Adri did not bother to look at his reaction.

Farther down the hallway they greeted Sandy before separating for the night. They walked down the nearby stairs toward the dungeon and the Slytherin common room hidden there. It had always amazed her how the few portraits hung in this portion of the castle were significantly snootier than the rest, but at that moment she decided they must be related to Draco.

Once they caught up with the crowd in front of a suit of armor, a tall seventh year prefect in the front addressed the armor. "Sempre Perfectum!" The armor suddenly jumped to life and moved out of the way. As students passed it, the armor studied the length of the hallway as if it were expecting trespassers. Approaching, it seemed to Adri that the armor was studying her. The prefect addressed it before she passed and informed it of her name, year, and that she was one of the house. With a nod, it turned its attention back to the hallway where it no doubt would soon have to memorize the first years.

They walked in, and her companions led her to the fourth year girl dormitory. Inside were six beds, all draped gracefully with clean curtains and expensive-looking bedspreads. Her trunk sat at the foot of the one at the end of the right wall; so she went back to it and threw herself across the bed.

She looked at Lisa and Barbara who were shaking their heads at her. "Hmm...this'll do methinks."


End file.
